All teams understand that docs serve as a first port of call for users looking for support or product information. But to what extent do they also serve as a sales or marketing tool?
To find out, we asked respondents how important product docs are when they themselves choose a product or service.
Say documentation is important when they’re making a purchasing decision
think their docs have an impact on their own product’s conversion
Documentation’s role in purchase decisions
How much documentation matters when choosing a product
Documentation plays a huge role when companies are deciding what products to buy. More than 90% of the leaders and engineers we surveyed said documentation was either “extremely important” or “somewhat important” in their decision-making. Only 2% said it wasn’t important at all.
What types of docs help people choose a product
[Select all that apply]
Product documentation is the top content type that helps influence buying decisions. Tutorials, guides, and API docs follow close behind. This shows that companies want a complete set of docs including examples, walkthroughs, and technical deep-dives — not just a product manual.
The business impact of documentation
Where docs are helping now — and where teams want them to help more
Documentation doesn’t just help people pick a product — it also affects how they use it and how long they stay with it.
What areas do your user-facing docs impact?
[Select all that apply]
What areas would you like your user-facing docs to have a greater impact on?
[Select all that apply]
Right now, support is the area where docs have the biggest impact. But when we asked where companies want docs to have more impact, customer satisfaction came out on top.
The biggest gap we saw was in conversion. A large number of respondents want their docs to help turn more prospects into paying customers, but they don’t think their current docs are doing enough yet.
Strategic implications
Docs can drive revenue and retention — if they’re used strategically
Good documentation doesn’t just answer user questions — it can actually help companies grow.
When it comes to conversion, the large majority say that good docs influence their decision to buy a product or service. But when analyzing their own documentation, only 35% thought it had an impact conversion.
However, there is a desire to improve the impact of docs on conversion. Many teams know that better docs could help turn more prospects into customers — they just haven’t fully tapped into that yet.
Retention is another big opportunity. Solid, easy-to-use documentation can keep customers loyal by helping them get more value from a product over time.
Strong activation docs are a hidden competitive edge
When it comes to helping new users get started, documentation is already making a big impact. Activation and integration docs got fairly high ratings in the survey.
And teams can build on this strength.
Activation docs that make it easy for users to start seeing value fast are a major competitive advantage. They show users right away that they made the right choice — and that makes them much more likely to stick around.
If your activation docs are already working well, apply the same approach to other parts of the customer journey, and deliver a consistently great experience at every step.
For more technical products, documentation isn’t just helpful, but a necessity for onboarding and activation.
Teams are leaving revenue on the table by under-using docs
There’s a big opportunity for companies to use documentation to drive more revenue. The gaps we saw in conversion, sign-up, and retention show that most teams aren’t using docs to their full potential.
Tido Carriero, co-founder of Koala, pointed out that checking certain technical docs an be just as strong a signal of buyer interest as requesting a demo:
By focusing documentation on areas like conversion and retention — not just support — teams can show that docs aren’t just a cost of doing business. They’re a source of growth.
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